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Diana Lopez of Kingston, Ulster County coordinator for the immigrant rights group Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson, looks through a sign on Dec. 4, 2018, at Kingston City Hall that was designed to look like a municipal ID card.

Kingston council adopts municipal ID program; mayor's OK expected

Standing ovation from crowd when legislation gets unanimous backing

Diana Lopez of Kingston, Ulster County coordinator for the immigrant rights group Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson, looks through a sign on Dec. 4, 2018, at Kingston City Hall that was designed to look like a municipal ID card.

KINGSTON, N.Y. — City lawmakers were enthusiastically cheered and given a standing ovation by a large crowd of supporters after legislation to create a municipal ID program in Kingston was adopted unanimously.

The Common Council on Tuesday adopted the legislation after hearing from more than a dozen supporters of the program and two opponents. The legislation now goes to Mayor Steve Noble, who will hold a public hearing on the municipal identification program before deciding whether to sign the law. A date for that hearing has not been set.

Following the council meeting Tuesday, Noble said he planned to sign the legislation and saw no reason why he would not. That would make Kingston only the fourth community in New York state to offer a municipal identification program, joining Poughkeepsie, Middletown and New York City.

"For us, this is very important," Diana Lopez, the Ulster County chapter coordinator for the immigrant rights group Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson, told the council prior to the vote. She said some people might ask why the program is necessary. Her answer: It could change many people's lives.

The intent of the municipal ID program, the legislation states, is "to build the city of Kingston's standing as a welcoming and inclusive center for all residents, without regard to a person's race, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, immigration, housing, financial status, or other marks of distinction."

Emma Kreyche, from the Worker Justice Center, a nonprofit human rights group, said her organization started offering a community identification program several years ago. She said there was a "tremendous need," with nearly 300 cards being issued within three months in Kingston alone.

Kreyche said the Workers Justice Center saw the need for the program across a diverse community, which included immigrants, as well as youths, older adults, disabled individuals and formerly incarcerated people, all of whom might lack proper identification. She said a survey of people who had the IDs issued by the center showed they used it for a variety of things, including financial transactions, during interactions with law enforcement, and to access health care and educational services.

Kreyche said the Workers Justice Center also saw the limitations of its program and that a municipal ID program will help address an urgent need for some city residents.

Diana Zuckerman, a coordinator of Mid-Hudson Valley Amnesty International, also voiced her support for the program, which she said will provide community members with documentation of identity, visibility and the message that they are valued and have a place here.

"Our Amnesty International group is looking forward to saying that all Kingston community members have this basic human right of a recognized municipal ID," Zuckerman said.

On the opposing side, Kingston resident Ellen DiFalco said the ID program is misplaced because the Ulster County Clerk's Office provides nondriver identifications, and that the city can expect ramifications from adopting the legislation.

DiFalco, who served as confidential secretary to former Mayor Shayne Gallo, also suggested noncitizens go through the naturalization process and noted the state has a program to help low-income immigrants.

Council Majority Leader Reynolds Scott-Childress, D-Ward 3, said many groups stand to benefit from the municipal ID program. He said they include senior citizens on a fixed income who will be able to access city services at a cheaper rate by proving they are residents, and youths who could do the same. The IDs also will benefit homeless people and immigrants, among others, Scott-Childress said.

Also, he noted, several Kingston businesses have indicated they would be willing to offer discounts to city residents who have the identification card.

"This is very much about unity," Scott-Childress said. "This is about being good neighbors." And there will be little cost to Kingston for the program, he said.

Alderman Tony Davis, D-Ward 6, also expressed support for the program. Among other things, he said, it will provide people without identification the documentation they need to be able to pick their children up from school. Davis also spoke about a friend who was given up for adoption at birth and who has no birth certificate to be able to get identification.

"It's not about 'they,'" Davis said of the program.

Prior to the council meeting, a "Rise Against Racism" vigil was held in front of City Hall. Participants joined in call-and-response chants that voiced their support for a variety of issues and people, including immigrants.

The municipal ID legislation states that residents' lack of access to acceptable forms of identification can raise public safety concerns. Residents without access to bank accounts often carry large amounts of money or store it in their homes, making them targets for crime, the proposal states. It also says residents who cannot produce proof of identity are often reluctant to report crimes they suffer or witness. A municipal ID card would reduce those impacts, improve public safety and enable all city residents to participate more fully in the community, the legislation states.

It also states that all completed applications and personal data gathered during the application process should be destroyed, other than the applicant's photograph, name, and date of birth. That information would be maintained confidentially.